What all is involved in the Ford 8.8 rear Axle swap? I know the obvious which is the brackets of which there is a kit available to weld up. As far as donors, which Ford Vehicle is what I would look for? As far as brakes, wheel lug patterns, and width. Someone please enlighten me. I did a search to no avail!

What all is involved in the Ford 8.8 rear Axle swap? I know the obvious which is the brackets of which there is a kit available to weld up. As far as donors, which Ford Vehicle is what I would look for? As far as brakes, wheel lug patterns, and width. Someone please enlighten me. I did a search to no avail!

I'm right in the middle of this swap myself.
The Axles you're looking for are from 1996+ ford explorers because they come with disk brakes.
ABS/Non-ABS axles either one will work.
Wheel lug is the same as jeep (5x4.5) and the width is just slightly narrower at 5/8ths shorter per side.
Things to remember are SYE/CV driveshafts, brake lines and specifically a solution on how to get the e-brake working. There are plenty of writeups and ideas on JF.

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Quote:

Originally Posted by mrbates

Zombi's are in fact very unpleasant to be around, they smell, and bite--also, they eat babies.

I'm right in the middle of this swap myself.
The Axles you're looking for are from 1996+ ford explorers because they come with disk brakes.
ABS/Non-ABS axles either one will work.
Wheel lug is the same as jeep (5x4.5) and the width is just slightly narrower at 5/8ths shorter per side.
Things to remember are SYE/CV driveshafts, brake lines and specifically a solution on how to get the e-brake working. There are plenty of writeups and ideas on JF.

I'm confused. So you only need to worry about the SYE/CV driveshafts, brake lines, and the e brake setup if you are going with say a junkyard 8.8?--And if I went the East Coast route I wouldn't have to worry about that? Thanks.

I'm confused. So you only need to worry about the SYE/CV driveshafts, brake lines, and the e brake setup if you are going with say a junkyard 8.8?--And if I went the East Coast route I wouldn't have to worry about that? Thanks.

Nope, only thing extra I had to get was adj. upper control arms, to get my pinion perfect for the stock ds. Other than that, unbolted the dead d35 and bolted in the 8.8. Ordered the e brake cables with the axle.

I haven't heard anything negative about the east coast gear people and actually thought about buying one from them myself, I just ended up doing mine from scratch. Bought a Ford 8.8 from a junkyard with 4.10 gears and lsd for 175.00. Bought the brackets and had them welded on by a local 4x4 shop for around 550, bought new rotors and pads, all total about 825-850 for everything. I also bought adjustable control arms so I was able to easily get my pinion angle dialed in and no vibes with the stock driveshaft and no sye. Overall it took alot of time doing it my way and alot of patience to get everything working right but it's doable. I wouldn't want to do it again though, thats for sure.

I haven't heard anything negative about the east coast gear people and actually thought about buying one from them myself, I just ended up doing mine from scratch. Bought a Ford 8.8 from a junkyard with 4.10 gears and lsd for 175.00. Bought the brackets and had them welded on by a local 4x4 shop for around 550, bought new rotors and pads, all total about 825-850 for everything. I also bought adjustable control arms so I was able to easily get my pinion angle dialed in and no vibes with the stock driveshaft and no sye. Overall it took alot of time doing it my way and alot of patience to get everything working right but it's doable. I wouldn't want to do it again though, thats for sure.

Yeah, it's hard to beat the ECG deal. For $500 dollars more you get all the work done, all new bearings, rebuilt lsd, and all new brakes. I ordered mine on a Sunday and had it delivered on Friday of that week.

Please stay out of my post with the rude comment. I tried 3 attempts at search to no avail. Perhaps YOU should fix the search function on this website. It's actually the worst search function I've found on any forum. I thought this forum was about jeepers helping jeepers and not "Use the search funtion!" JERK!

Yeah, it's hard to beat the ECG deal. For $500 dollars more you get all the work done, all new bearings, rebuilt lsd, and all new brakes. I ordered mine on a Sunday and had it delivered on Friday of that week.

Please stay out of my post with the rude comment. I tried 3 attempts at search to no avail. Perhaps YOU should fix the search function on this website. It's actually the worst search function I've found on any forum. I thought this forum was about jeepers helping jeepers and not "Use the search funtion!" JERK!

VERY TRUE! Every thread I've ever posted i've had someone go on there and say "use the search" like its SO annoying to them. The search should be specific to what jeep you searching for. If im looking for TJ stuff it shouldn't pull up all ZJ stuff...

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I recently purchased a HPD30 and Ford 8.8 with Nitro 4.88s from East Coast Gear Supply. Axles were at my door within 5 days of ordering them. Axles exceeded my expectations. The guys at ECG were great and answered all my questions. I got both axles shipped ready to go for about $2,200. I did not get lockers and did just the basics, and I am 100% satisfied with the work and craftsmanship of the welds and products they use.

The E-Brake cables hooked up without an issue. And I opted for the used pads and rotors and they still have a ton of meat left.

I installed the axles in my driveway with simple hand tools and a 1/2" Impact gun.

I also kept my stock drive shaft and uppers for now, but plan on doing the SYE combo sometime soon.

I highly recommend getting a price from ECG. Any questions, feel free to PM me.